Rangers trio Joe Aribo, Calvin Bassey, and Leon Balogun have all been included in the Nigeria squad for the upcoming World Cup playoff ties against Ghana at the end of the month and their manager has been singing the squads praises.
Augustine Eguavoen took over before the start of the Africa Cup of Nations from Gernot Rohr, who was sacked in December.
Despite a poor tournament in Cameroon, Eguavoen is optimistic about the playoff tie.
“I was impressed with the high level of discipline and commitment of the players at the AFCON in Cameroon, and I feel privileged to lead the group,” said Eguavoen [GhanaSoccerNet].
“We have two tough games against Ghana next month, but I am not too worried because we have a squad that knows it is a mountain that we have to climb.
“We have a good headache to deal with – which is a surplus of good players. I want to thank the Government and the NFF for all the support during the AFCON; we will need even greater support for the World Cup playoff.”
Rangers trio Joe Aribo, Calvin Bassey, and Leon Balogun have been boosted ahead of Nigeria’s World Cup playoff tie against Ghana
Only Aribo was included in the Cup of Nations squad as the Super Eagles bowed out at the last 16 stage following an impressive group stage performance.
With Balogun and Bassey in the squad too, Rangers could well be missing them all for the World Cup in November/December, if Nigeria qualifies.
Ghana had a terrible tournament in Cameroon, finishing last in their group and with Chris Hughton in charge of the Black Stars, the country is very much in a transitional stage.
With the quality of players at Nigeria’s disposal, they are strong contenders to reach their fourth World Cup in a row.
